Ella Risk Elementary School
949 Dexter St. Central Falls, RI 02863
(401) 727-7730
Located in the heart of Central Falls, Ella Risk Elementary School consists of grades 1 through 4 with an average of 475 students in attendance (2011). Principle Maureen Azar and Superintendent Frances Gallo made the decision in 2011 to drop Grade 5 and Kindergarten from their school. With the school being so small, it does not have a school website so very little is available for viewing about the schools program outside of the SALTS reports. As with the rest of Central Falls, the percentage of Hispanic students at the school is high. 75% of the students are Hispanic with the remaining 25% identifying with other racial backgrounds. The community is very diverse and has maintained a wide range of racial backgrounds for many years. That 25% breaks down to 64/1% white, 8.7% black, and 30% more than one race. This diverse group can cause some challenges for students being in such a poor income community with many students speaking different languages but the elementary school has always strived to be a better school to better the lives of its students, the Ella Risk Elementary Schools' mission statement is
"standards-driven teaching and learning community that promotes literacy, effective communication, problem solving, critical thinking, civic responsibility and the skills necessary for living and working in a culturally diverse society" - Principal Azar
Student Achievement
Although the school holds itself to high standards and pushes to promote literacy and skills to live and work in their community the school does not show the results they hold themselves to. The School has not passed their NECAP in three years and the schools AYP scores show very low efficiency. As with previous years the schools scores have been below the standards of the state as well as the community. Compared to many years ago the schools grades have been slowly moving in the right direction. in 2011-2012 the Elementary School fell below the state average in the NECAP testing. The 3rd graders were tested in two areas Math and Reading; 4th graders tested in three areas, Math, Reading, and Science. Although these scores are very poor the SALTS report from the 2011-2012 school year shows that the students do show a very high interest in reading and enjoy helping others to read as well as spending much of their time outside of school reading. It also mentions that the students have very good comprehension skills and the teachers are very influencel to the students. These factors unfortunately do not reflect on the NECAP scores for the 3rd and 4th grades.
Although the school as a whole did not meet the AYP standards, there were some achievements overall for certain demographics. In 2010-2011 all students were considered proficient in math even though they did not meet the target percentage of 80.9% this is because although they only hit 74% they showed significant improvement from previous years, showing that they are becoming proficient. The school was evaluated on 25 factors and met 22 of them. The African American subgroup was not large enough to be considered for proficiency and the white subgroup fell short of the target in English Language Arts but made significant enough improvement in the Math section to have met the target. Hispanic group met both targets in English Language Arts and Math for the AYP. Labeling the School a Warning.
One of the major factors for this school is the high level on students receiving IEP (27%). There is a high level of teachers that teach Special Education and according to the SALTS report 60% of their teaching time is spent in a Special Education only classroom. This gives the indication that there is a significant amount of children that require additional services. In the 2010-2011 AYP standards evaluation for both Math and English Language Arts students with disabilities, English Language Learners and Economically disadvantaged children fell just short of the target, but because of a significant improvement shown, were considered to have met the target independently. This only shows how hard this school is working to improve the schools standards.
Information Reported By Schools
3rd Grade Math:
NECAP: 3rd Grade
school
state
Math
34%
60%
Reading
49%
73%
4th Grade Math:
NECAP: 4th Grade
school
state
math
37%
65%
reading
41%
71%
science
6%
45%
Participation:
82.2% of the 4th and 5th graders participated in the SALTS reports
96% of the 4th graders made up the survey.
AYP Report Card
Number of Target Areas Evaluated: 3
Number of Targets Met: 0
Areas that need improvement: 3
Teaching
The students rated their teachers very highly, they gave a sufficient amount of time for projects and many of them did not feel as though they were overloaded by homework. What I did find interesting was the degree of students that felt as though their teachers were making them "think hard" with their class work. 33% of students said that their teachers make them think hard which is higher than the state average of 20% this shows that the teachers are helping to push these students to their fullest potential . The students also feel as though their teachers do not help them after they have missed days of school, 33.7%. According to the students, (66%) felt as if their teachers only sometimes asked them to work with other students. The students however did feel as if they could go to a teacher if something was wrong or if they needed advice. Something that is very significant for children who are from low income families.
The teachers did receive high marks from students in many areas. The students feel as if the teachers have them work in small groups (always) was 20.2% which was significantly higher than the 10% ranked by the state. They also have them do partner work 11.1% (always) in this school compared to the 2.9% statewide. The students also felt that the teacher helped them keep their desks clean (organization skills) 49.2% always compared to the 29% statewide.
The school from a teaching standpoint, ranked by the students were very much in line with that of the rest of the state. The teachers at this school were some of the highest qualifying teachers in the state with over 50% having their masters degrees. This is very significant in terms of the level of teaching these students are receiving and the level of standard that the school is setting for itself. The teachers were also very highly ranked by the parents in the community, showing a high level of communication with the parents, (mostly in person) 78.2% of the time vs 66% (statewide). The high level of in person communication (66%) compared to via email or online site like the rest of the state (5.3% and 2.1% vs 53.5% and 8.7% respectively) is due to the percentage of low income families in Central Falls who most likely do not have access to internet as readily as the rest of the state. 54.8% of the parents felt as if the teachers were easily accessible for meeting and conversations about their child.
Information Reported By Schools
in 2010-2011
Teachers with Emergency certification: 0%
Teachers not highly qualified: 0%
student to teacher ratio : 9:1
Information Reported by Students
Family,Community, and Home Life
The community is very much supportive of this school, often doing fund raisers or getting involved. The parents rated a high involvement from the community as well as a large percentage of after school programs that are supporting the children's development. Many of these children get a lot of outside exercise and spend more time running around that in doors (46.6% outside vs 37% indoors) for 2 or more hours of outside play. However, due to the poor neighborhood 24.5% of the students have been told they have asthma, which is high compared to the state at 21%.
The students although receiving breakfast in some way, has two significant places of higher percentage of days a week that breakfast is received. The marking of 5 days a week is significantly higher than the other days in the week due to the amount of students that receive breakfast at the school. So the only days a week that they receive breakfast is when they are in school.
Information Reported By Schools
school
state
Students eligible for subsidized lunches
96%
46%
ESL or Bilingual students
21%
6%
Students receiving Special Ed. services
22%
15%
Information Reported by Students
Days a week I ate breakfast
school
state
0
1%
2.9%
1
7.8%
2.9%
2
1.9%
3.2%
3
6.8%
4.1%
4
2.9%
3.2%
5
9.7%
6.7%
6
1%
5.5%
7
68.9%
71.4%
Safe and Supportive Schools
Information Reported By Schools
Attendance by students is fairly high and in line with the rest of the state. As well as the absentee percentage, which was 1% below that of the state average (16%-17% respectively). The suspensions for the school were very low but unexpected for the grades in which the school runs. There were 2 suspensions in 2011-2012 both related to weapon possession and violence.
Although the absentee are low and attendance is high, the stability for the school was 77%, ten percent below that of the state. The mobility at the school is also high at 26% mobility which is 14% over the state percentage of 14%.
Information Reported by Students
Many of the students in the school feel as if not only do their teachers care about them but also really enjoy teaching. This reflects in the assessments they gave their teachers in the type of classroom they feel their teachers provide for them. The students also feel comfortable talking to their teachers when they need help or if they are having some type of problem. However, because of this friendly relationship that the teachers hold with their students. The teacher-student respect levels are lower than in the state, 71% of students at the school respect the teachers where as 75.6% of the state do.
There is also a relatively high rate of violence in the school considering the ages that are in the school itself. Although the students feel safe on their way to school, while in school and back home (92.7%,91.7%, 85%) the students also reported that 21.5% of them have been robbed while in school which is very high compared to the state average of 16.7 %.
student -student violence in the past 12 months
Ella Risk
state
gotten into a fight (hitting)
13.9%
16.7%
seen a student with a gun or knife
10.6%
12.4%
gun
30%
22.2%
knife
80%
86.5%
Changes Over the Past Decade
Previous to 2011 there was a Kindergarten and Grade 5. Due to the small number of staff and students enrolled, those grades were dropped.
Ella Risk Elementary school has improved significantly over the past ten years with its scoring and achievement levels.
According to the 2003 assessment of the school which at that time had 467 students and 29 teachers had a very low testing school.
For grade 4 only 40% of the grade was proficient in math compared to the 63% of the state (skills) 11% vs 35% for concepts and 10% vs 27% for problem solving skills. In 4th grade for English Language Arts the school had 51% proficient in basic reading comprehension vs the 69% of the state, reading interpretation was 43% vs 57%, writing was 48% vs 63% and writing conventions was 39% vs 56% .
The students overall did not meet the Targets for the year of 2003, the target for math was 61.7% with only 57.7% of all students were proficient, as with math 72.7% of the students at Ella Risk were proficient; the target was 76.1% . Each demographic was close to the target but only one demographic almost met them. Hispanics were at 59.2% in math and 72.8% in English. Students with disabilities were 51.4% and 55.5% for math and English respectively, economically disadvantage were at 57.6% in math and 72%in English. The white population did not meet for math at 60.3% vs 61.7% for the state but were the closest demographic, they did not meet the target for English but was significantly closer than other demographics at 75.4% vs 76.1% state target.
The schools characteristics has changed since 2003. The amount of students eligible for free or reduced lunch was low in 2003 at 87% in 2011 it is over 90%. The Hispanic population has increased as well, at only 67% in 2003. The African American population was up at 12% and white was at 21% in 2003. There was also only 32% of the school was eligible for ESL or bilingual services. The school did however meet the attendance target, the school was 94.1% the state target was 90%. The violence in the school has also been brought down from the 45 suspension in 2003 to the 2 reported in 2011. in 2003 there was 1 report on an assault on a teacher, 26 reports of in school fighting 12 reports of disrespect, 1 report of abusive language toward a teacher 3 reports of threats, and 2 reports of weapon possession.
The school is slowly improving as a whole for its scores and standards compared to that state but the most improvement has been seen in the involvement between the students teachers and parents as well as improving the safety in the school.
Useful Sources:
The information and data below was retrieved from the following sites.
Ella Risk School (2012) Info-Works Rhode Island. http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/ella-risk-school
SALTS report, Ella Risk Elementary School, Survey Works. (2012). http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/files/surveyworks/2011-2012/combined/surveyworks-2011-2012-ella-risk-school-student-parent-teacher-es.pdf
Central Falls School District, Ella Risk Elementary School (viewed June 2013)http://www.cfschools.net/schools/ella-risk-elementary/
School Demographics and Geographical Location
Ella Risk Elementary School949 Dexter St. Central Falls, RI 02863
(401) 727-7730
Located in the heart of Central Falls, Ella Risk Elementary School consists of grades 1 through 4 with an average of 475 students in attendance (2011). Principle Maureen Azar and Superintendent Frances Gallo made the decision in 2011 to drop Grade 5 and Kindergarten from their school. With the school being so small, it does not have a school website so very little is available for viewing about the schools program outside of the SALTS reports. As with the rest of Central Falls, the percentage of Hispanic students at the school is high. 75% of the students are Hispanic with the remaining 25% identifying with other racial backgrounds. The community is very diverse and has maintained a wide range of racial backgrounds for many years. That 25% breaks down to 64/1% white, 8.7% black, and 30% more than one race. This diverse group can cause some challenges for students being in such a poor income community with many students speaking different languages but the elementary school has always strived to be a better school to better the lives of its students, the Ella Risk Elementary Schools' mission statement is
"standards-driven teaching and learning community that promotes literacy, effective communication, problem solving, critical thinking, civic responsibility and the skills
necessary for living and working in a culturally diverse society" - Principal Azar
Student Achievement
Although the school holds itself to high standards and pushes to promote literacy and skills to live and work in their community the school does not show the results they hold themselves to. The School has not passed their NECAP in three years and the schools AYP scores show very low efficiency. As with previous years the schools scores have been below the standards of the state as well as the community. Compared to many years ago the schools grades have been slowly moving in the right direction. in 2011-2012 the Elementary School fell below the state average in the NECAP testing. The 3rd graders were tested in two areas Math and Reading; 4th graders tested in three areas, Math, Reading, and Science. Although these scores are very poor the SALTS report from the 2011-2012 school year shows that the students do show a very high interest in reading and enjoy helping others to read as well as spending much of their time outside of school reading. It also mentions that the students have very good comprehension skills and the teachers are very influencel to the students. These factors unfortunately do not reflect on the NECAP scores for the 3rd and 4th grades.
Although the school as a whole did not meet the AYP standards, there were some achievements overall for certain demographics. In 2010-2011 all students were considered proficient in math even though they did not meet the target percentage of 80.9% this is because although they only hit 74% they showed significant improvement from previous years, showing that they are becoming proficient. The school was evaluated on 25 factors and met 22 of them. The African American subgroup was not large enough to be considered for proficiency and the white subgroup fell short of the target in English Language Arts but made significant enough improvement in the Math section to have met the target. Hispanic group met both targets in English Language Arts and Math for the AYP. Labeling the School a Warning.
One of the major factors for this school is the high level on students receiving IEP (27%). There is a high level of teachers that teach Special Education and according to the SALTS report 60% of their teaching time is spent in a Special Education only classroom. This gives the indication that there is a significant amount of children that require additional services. In the 2010-2011 AYP standards evaluation for both Math and English Language Arts students with disabilities, English Language Learners and Economically disadvantaged children fell just short of the target, but because of a significant improvement shown, were considered to have met the target independently. This only shows how hard this school is working to improve the schools standards.
Information Reported By Schools
3rd Grade Math:Participation:
82.2% of the 4th and 5th graders participated in the SALTS reports
96% of the 4th graders made up the survey.
AYP Report Card
Teaching
The students rated their teachers very highly, they gave a sufficient amount of time for projects and many of them did not feel as though they were overloaded by homework. What I did find interesting was the degree of students that felt as though their teachers were making them "think hard" with their class work. 33% of students said that their teachers make them think hard which is higher than the state average of 20% this shows that the teachers are helping to push these students to their fullest potential . The students also feel as though their teachers do not help them after they have missed days of school, 33.7%. According to the students, (66%) felt as if their teachers only sometimes asked them to work with other students. The students however did feel as if they could go to a teacher if something was wrong or if they needed advice. Something that is very significant for children who are from low income families.
The teachers did receive high marks from students in many areas. The students feel as if the teachers have them work in small groups (always) was 20.2% which was significantly higher than the 10% ranked by the state. They also have them do partner work 11.1% (always) in this school compared to the 2.9% statewide. The students also felt that the teacher helped them keep their desks clean (organization skills) 49.2% always compared to the 29% statewide.The school from a teaching standpoint, ranked by the students were very much in line with that of the rest of the state. The teachers at this school were some of the highest qualifying teachers in the state with over 50% having their masters degrees. This is very significant in terms of the level of teaching these students are receiving and the level of standard that the school is setting for itself. The teachers were also very highly ranked by the parents in the community, showing a high level of communication with the parents, (mostly in person) 78.2% of the time vs 66% (statewide). The high level of in person communication (66%) compared to via email or online site like the rest of the state (5.3% and 2.1% vs 53.5% and 8.7% respectively) is due to the percentage of low income families in Central Falls who most likely do not have access to internet as readily as the rest of the state. 54.8% of the parents felt as if the teachers were easily accessible for meeting and conversations about their child.
Information Reported By Schools
in 2010-2011Teachers with Emergency certification: 0%
Teachers not highly qualified: 0%
student to teacher ratio : 9:1
Information Reported by Students
Family,Community, and Home Life
The community is very much supportive of this school, often doing fund raisers or getting involved. The parents rated a high involvement from the community as well as a large percentage of after school programs that are supporting the children's development. Many of these children get a lot of outside exercise and spend more time running around that in doors (46.6% outside vs 37% indoors) for 2 or more hours of outside play. However, due to the poor neighborhood 24.5% of the students have been told they have asthma, which is high compared to the state at 21%.The students although receiving breakfast in some way, has two significant places of higher percentage of days a week that breakfast is received. The marking of 5 days a week is significantly higher than the other days in the week due to the amount of students that receive breakfast at the school. So the only days a week that they receive breakfast is when they are in school.
Information Reported By Schools
Safe and Supportive Schools
Information Reported By Schools
Attendance by students is fairly high and in line with the rest of the state. As well as the absentee percentage, which was 1% below that of the state average (16%-17% respectively). The suspensions for the school were very low but unexpected for the grades in which the school runs. There were 2 suspensions in 2011-2012 both related to weapon possession and violence.
Although the absentee are low and attendance is high, the stability for the school was 77%, ten percent below that of the state. The mobility at the school is also high at 26% mobility which is 14% over the state percentage of 14%.
Information Reported by Students
Many of the students in the school feel as if not only do their teachers care about them but also really enjoy teaching. This reflects in the assessments they gave their teachers in the type of classroom they feel their teachers provide for them. The students also feel comfortable talking to their teachers when they need help or if they are having some type of problem. However, because of this friendly relationship that the teachers hold with their students. The teacher-student respect levels are lower than in the state, 71% of students at the school respect the teachers where as 75.6% of the state do.
There is also a relatively high rate of violence in the school considering the ages that are in the school itself. Although the students feel safe on their way to school, while in school and back home (92.7%,91.7%, 85%) the students also reported that 21.5% of them have been robbed while in school which is very high compared to the state average of 16.7 %.
Changes Over the Past Decade
Previous to 2011 there was a Kindergarten and Grade 5. Due to the small number of staff and students enrolled, those grades were dropped.
http://www.infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2004/pdf/school/04101E.pdf
Ella Risk Elementary school has improved significantly over the past ten years with its scoring and achievement levels.
According to the 2003 assessment of the school which at that time had 467 students and 29 teachers had a very low testing school.
For grade 4 only 40% of the grade was proficient in math compared to the 63% of the state (skills) 11% vs 35% for concepts and 10% vs 27% for problem solving skills. In 4th grade for English Language Arts the school had 51% proficient in basic reading comprehension vs the 69% of the state, reading interpretation was 43% vs 57%, writing was 48% vs 63% and writing conventions was 39% vs 56% .
The students overall did not meet the Targets for the year of 2003, the target for math was 61.7% with only 57.7% of all students were proficient, as with math 72.7% of the students at Ella Risk were proficient; the target was 76.1% . Each demographic was close to the target but only one demographic almost met them. Hispanics were at 59.2% in math and 72.8% in English. Students with disabilities were 51.4% and 55.5% for math and English respectively, economically disadvantage were at 57.6% in math and 72%in English. The white population did not meet for math at 60.3% vs 61.7% for the state but were the closest demographic, they did not meet the target for English but was significantly closer than other demographics at 75.4% vs 76.1% state target.
The schools characteristics has changed since 2003. The amount of students eligible for free or reduced lunch was low in 2003 at 87% in 2011 it is over 90%. The Hispanic population has increased as well, at only 67% in 2003. The African American population was up at 12% and white was at 21% in 2003. There was also only 32% of the school was eligible for ESL or bilingual services. The school did however meet the attendance target, the school was 94.1% the state target was 90%. The violence in the school has also been brought down from the 45 suspension in 2003 to the 2 reported in 2011. in 2003 there was 1 report on an assault on a teacher, 26 reports of in school fighting 12 reports of disrespect, 1 report of abusive language toward a teacher 3 reports of threats, and 2 reports of weapon possession.
The school is slowly improving as a whole for its scores and standards compared to that state but the most improvement has been seen in the involvement between the students teachers and parents as well as improving the safety in the school.